Then, in delight, he exclaimed:
“The great iron key!”
“The same,” said Mr. Prescott, “and glad enough I am to have it here.
“When I gave Tom the new key, he didn’t look altogether happy. I think the fellow really has enjoyed having the care of this one.”
“I suppose,” said Billy, “that the new one is so small that he will be afraid of losing it. They don’t make such large keys nowadays.”
“That statement may be true in general,” said Mr. Prescott, “but the fact is that the new key is as large as this.”
Then Mr. Prescott stopped talking, but he looked right at Billy.
“You don’t mean,” said Billy, after thinking for a minute as hard as he could, “that you have had a key made, do you?”
“That is the meaning that I intended to convey,” answered Mr. Prescott. “But I’m not going to tease a fellow that is down-stairs for the first time, so I’ll tell you, right away, that Mr. John Bradford made the casting for the new key, and he used this for a pattern.”
“Oh!” said Billy, smiling.